Celebrity Status
by Einna Fletcher
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura's lives revolve around music, and the craziness that comes with fame. Romance is the last thing they want to deal with. The problem: they can't seem to stay away from each other. AU
1. Let the Flames Begin

The band could hear the sound of the crowd as they unloaded their equipment behind the huge stage. They had just arrived, and Sasuke had his guitar case slung over one shoulder. The audience was cheering and hyped; it sounded like they were between acts.

"Who's playing before us?" Sasuke asked Naruto (drummer and close friend of a reluctant Sasuke), frowning. He had no idea what the lineup was, only that their band was closing the show. It was some sort of spur of the moment concert, in Ishi's outdoor arena, and they were stopping in before they continued on to the Ame Music Festival the following week. _Just show up at a few shows, get the crowd excited for next week_, their manager had said.

"Sakura Haruno." Naruto grinned widely.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed immediately. "You've got to be kidding me."

Sakura Haruno was quickly rising to fame as the New Thing. Despite being in the music business, Sasuke had never met her, and preferred to keep it that way. Just the fact that she, an indie-ish pop star (and typical one-hit wonder), was playing before _their_ band, was absurd.

The only reason Sasuke had agreed to the last minute show was because it wasn't a pop concert, but apparently that had been a lie.

"Why are you so disappointed?" Kiba, the band's bassist, looked at Sasuke incredulously. "She's amazing! She'll get us so much press."

"We don't need press. And her stuff is completely different from ours. It's a joke." Sasuke said through gritted teeth. Press, from Sakura Haruno? She'd need press from _them_, not the other way around. She wasn't even close to their level, as far as fame and respect went. Not to mention musical quality.

Actually, he'd never really listened to any of her stuff, besides the one or two songs they played nonstop on the radio. But that was irrelevant.

"Oh, come on, teme, just play along for once! You know she's gorgeous..." Naruto wiggled his eyebrows.

"You have a girlfriend." Sasuke said. Naruto was dating Hinata Hyuga, an incredibly nice sound technician.

"But _you_ don't." Naruto grinned and clapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "Maybe she's your type."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke glared at Naruto. "And she's definitely not my type." There was no way.

* * *

><p>Their band watched her come onstage five minutes later, clustered by their equipment offstage. Sasuke had seen Sakura Haruno's face on plenty of billboards, he knew she was pretty, but she was about a hundred times prettier in person, if that was possible (it would be stupid to disagree with that). She was wearing a tight black dress, jean jacket, and heels; her pink hair was loose and wavy. The crowd went wild when she appeared; Sasuke would've been more surprised if he didn't know what hordes of teenage girls were like at concerts.<p>

The rest of Sasuke's bandmates watched her with gaping mouths. _Idiots_. Sasuke just scowled at them, at then at Sakura Haruno. He was determined to be unimpressed.

"Hi, everyone," Sakura Haruno said, giving the crowd a smile that made them go crazy. So she was going for the modest appearance, was she? "I'm gonna start it off fast." She gave the signal to the guys in the band behind her and then she started to sing.

Her foot tapped the beat and she took the microphone in one hand, smiling at the audience.

Well, she could sing. Sasuke wished he could deny it, but it wasn't autotune that gave her voice that sound. She had a powerful voice, not really a belter but incredibly warm. He couldn't help being drawn into it, even though she was probably insufferable in real life. She had pink hair, for God's sake.

Someone handed her a guitar for the last song. She tuned it standing on the stage in front of everyone, and Sasuke was surprised. "My last song's a little slower." She said. "You guys might have heard it before, it's called 'Numb.'" There were cheers.

She started strumming the guitar and Sasuke realized she knew exactly what she was doing.

Singing acoustic, her voice still had the warm quality, but it also went low and raspy. And it was dead sexy. Her fingers moved easily over the guitar, picking out complex rhythms, and Sasuke couldn't help raising his eyebrows. It was going against everything he'd decided, but he was slightly impressed (and extremely angry at himself for it).

When she finished, there were deafening cheers and applause that went on forever. She smiled to the crowd. "I'm going to be at the Ame Bowl on June 25th, so hopefully I'll see some of you there. Thanks, everyone!" She waved and then walked offstage.

"Holy shit." Kiba said.

The rest of the band seemed to be thinking the same thing. Everyone's mouths were open. Sasuke just rolled his eyes. He'd never, not in a million years, admit that Sakura Haruno was ridiculously good.

"You guys are idiots." Sasuke said instead. "Come on."

The speakers blasted one of their songs to the audience as a huge curtain came down, and the technicians pulled off Sakura Haruno's stuff while the band set up their own equipment. Sasuke took out his old guitar (he wouldn't let anyone else touch it, let alone tune it for him) and tuned it quickly, then pulled the battered strap over his head. Everyone else was situated, and Shikamaru nodded to the person standing by offstage with a headset. The music on the speakers stopped abruptly.

"And now…" The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. "Give it up for FIRESTYLE!"

The crowd went crazy. The curtains opened and they launched into the opening notes of 'Explosive' to huge applause. Sasuke smirked as his fingers moved effortlessly over the chords, ripping up the solo halfway through the song.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru's lazy voice finished the final notes of their last song, and Sasuke was satisfied that they'd at least caught up the crowd as much as Sakura Haruno had, if not more (they were Firestyle, after all).<p>

But when the four of them got offstage, Sasuke was shocked to see Sakura Haruno was still there. He'd expected her to have been shuttled off to her luxury tour bus by now, surrounded by a mass of assistants.

"You guys were great," she said. "I'm Sakura Haruno, by the way." She held out a hand with a smile and Naruto ran up to shake it enthusiastically.

"It's so good to meet you, Sakura!" He said excitedly. "You were awesome!"

"Oh, God, thanks." She smiled, and Sasuke was annoyed by how sincere it was. _What's she playing at?_

"Hey," Kiba said, coming up to get his own handshake. "I'm Kiba. Nice to meet you, babe."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Ignore him." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "I'm Shikamaru. You were really good just now."

"Thanks. That really means a lot, coming from you guys." She was blushing slightly.

Suddenly, everyone looked expectantly at Sasuke. "You still haven't introduced yourself, teme." Naruto said.

She looked at him, eyebrows raised slightly. "I'm Sasuke." He said in a low voice, frowning at her.

"Pleasure," Sakura Haruno said. Her eyes were laughing and she was nothing like he'd expected. She was relatively short, and had to look up at him, but he could see that he didn't intimidate her at all. It was strange...And infuriating to no end.

"Are you going to the Ame Festival, Sakura?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Yep! I'm playing the main stage for the first time, I'm really excited." She said.

"Oh, wow, awesome!" Naruto said. "Congrats."

"Thanks. You guys are going to be there too, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru said with a yawn. "We'll make an appearance."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. They were headlining, like they'd done for the past two years.

She grinned. "Right. Well, I should get back, I've got another concert tonight."

"Really? Where?" Naruto asked.

"An auditorium in the city." Sakura said. "Eight to nine."

"What're you doing afterward?" Naruto asked her with a grin.

"Um…Nothing, I don't think. I'm leaving for Ame in the morning."

"Us too. We're staying at the hotel uptown." Naruto said. "You should come out to the club with us tonight."

"Really?" She asked, looking surprised.

"Duh! You're awesome." Kiba said with a grin.

"You've known me for five minutes." Sakura said.

Sasuke almost smirked, and then realized what he was doing. He frowned.

"Come on, it'll be fun! We'll show you the best spots!" Naruto said.

Sakura smiled. "In that case…Okay. Sounds like fun."

"We'll meet you at ten!" Naruto gave her the address.

"Cool, I'll see you then. It was nice to meet you guys." Sakura said with a smile before going to meet her entourage waiting by the back entrance. They disappeared outside.

"She is _smoking_." Kiba said.

Sasuke looked at him with narrowed eyes, annoyed for some reason even though Kiba was like this all the time.

"Why'd you invite her out, dobe?" Sasuke asked, irritated.

"Because she's super nice! And she's gorgeous and really cool." Naruto said. "Why do you hate her so much?"

"I don't hate her." Sasuke muttered. "But she's got pink hair. She's a pop singer."

"No she's not!" Naruto said. "Didn't you hear her set?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Come on, teme, it'll be fun!"

Sasuke sighed. 'Fun' wasn't the word he would've used.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I've been writing bits of this over a long period of time just because it always puts me in a good mood (and I couldn't resist doing a musician AU). I figured I'd post the first chapter. Be warned it's ridiculous and full of drama and smut and celebrity stuff. But it's Sasuke and Sakura so who cares. _

_Also since this is a music-centric story, every chapter will be a different song title (crossing my fingers that doesn't violate some copyright thing?). For the most part it'll be songs that I actually like, so check them out if you want; my music taste is sort of all over the place, so should be interesting. Anyway, enjoy :) _


	2. Sparks Will Fly

After meeting outside later that night, the five of them entered the club together. It was one of the places they always went when they were in Ishi, a warehouse type building where it was easy to get lost in the crowd. Sasuke doubted anyone would recognize them in the dim light, but then again…They'd just performed that afternoon.

In the beginning, around two years ago now, Sasuke had underestimated how popular the band was. And then suddenly everything had blown up. The paparazzi had started showing up in more and more places and he continuously got recognized when he was out in public. That had resulted in him rarely going out, preferring to stay as far away as possible from flashing lights and screams. But when they were on tour, it was much harder to avoid, and none of the other guys in the band were nearly as opposed to it as he was.

So Sasuke rarely went out to clubs, even though people were usually too out of it to realize who you were. But the band went out sometimes after shows, and he always ended up surrounded by girls. He'd only come tonight because he wanted a drink and they didn't have any booze on the bus. Plus Naruto wouldn't take no for an answer.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, his normal uniform (though he did have enough sense to change from his sweaty concert clothes).

The club was dark and smoky; the normal EDM was blasting and the room was hot and crowded.

Sasuke sat down at the bar and got a beer. Sakura Haruno sat down next to him.

She looked gorgeous, and he couldn't even pretend to deny it. She was wearing a navy blue dress, towering black heels, and dark eye makeup. Sasuke thought with vague irritation that she was way too pretty for her own good.

She ordered a shot, and Sasuke looked at her in surprise.

"I've got a higher tolerance than it looks like." She said dryly, rolling her eyes at him. Clearly she'd known exactly what he was thinking: a small, pink-haired girl would never be able to hold her liquor.

But she downed the shot like a pro when the bartender gave it to her. She flashed a smile at Sasuke and suddenly he had the urge to get one himself.

"My round." Sasuke said.

She raised her eyebrows with a grin. "Okay."

He got two shots for both of them and they drank them at the same time.

"Wow." She swallowed again and put her glass down.

Sasuke smirked. "Too much?"

She just rolled her eyes. "Look, just keep your stupid biases. I'm not going to get wasted to prove a point."

"Tch." Sasuke almost laughed, which immediately made him irritated with himself. He wasn't supposed to find Sakura Haruno funny. Or remotely attractive. But the latter was already out the window.

"So are you always an arrogant asshole?" She asked him, eyebrows raised. Her eyes were an unusually bright green; it hadn't been exaggerated by the billboards and magazine spreads. But maybe it was because he was already starting feeling the effects of the alcohol. The music was loud and he didn't know if he was thinking straight.

Sasuke shrugged.

She laughed. "That's what I thought."

"Right." He said sarcastically.

She was completely unperturbed by his tone. "Well, thanks for buying me the drink, anyway. Want to get one more?"

"Hn. Fine. What do you want?"

"Whiskey sour would be great."

Before he had a chance to get his wallet out, she had pulled out her own, and Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"What? This way we're even." She shrugged.

"Hn." Sasuke sat back again and looked over at the mass of people on the dance floor. He glimpsed Kiba, dancing with some random girl, and Naruto's blond hair on the other side of the room.

The bartender brought their drinks over. "Why'd you ask about me being an asshole." Vaguely he wondered if it sounded like he was whining. _God I hope not. _

"I was just curious. Considering you came off as a total prick backstage today." She took a long sip of her drink. "The bad boy thing is kind of overused. Just saying."

Sasuke just glared at her. "So is the girl next door thing." He said, trying to be harsh, even though he didn't mean it. He drank down his whole glass. Now he was _definitely_ feeling the alcohol.

She mock-pouted. "Oh no, you've got my scheme all figured out. Damn it." She drank the rest of her glass and grinned, and Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"Come on, you want to dance with me?" She asked, and he thought she might be starting to get drunk too. "Or are you too cool?"

"You dance too?" Sasuke said skeptically (he wasn't sure why he was skeptical...why did he hate her so much, again?).

"Well, I do have concerts where I move around." She shrugged. "Apparently it's not enough for me to stand still."

There was some deeper resentment in that, but Sasuke was too drunk by now to question it.

The two of them went out on the dance floor.

"This is nice," she said, looking up at him. Sasuke met her eyes and didn't want to look away. Instead he smirked, and saw it reflected in her face.

The lights were flashing and the music seemed like it was only getting louder. And then she rolled her hips against his. _Jesus Christ. What am I doing? _This was Sakura Haruno. His bandmates would make fun of him for the rest of his life if they hooked up. But she was gorgeous, and they were both drunk...and for some reason she turned him on in every way.

She danced up against him, grabbing his hands. She had a sense of rhythm, that was for sure. The music pounded in Sasuke's ears and he could feel the heat of all the people around them. It seemed like he was feeling everything a thousand times more than he usually did, but for some reason it wasn't bothering him. Normally he wouldn't be seen dead on a dance floor, but something felt different. It had to be the alcohol, everything was hazy and everyone's faces were blurred. Sasuke had the vague feeling that this probably wasn't a good idea.

Before he could decide whether that was true, they were kissing. Sakura's lips were soft but she was putting a lot of power into the kiss, and Sasuke responded the same way. He felt her smile against his lips, and the lights were flashing around him, and he couldn't hear anything except the music. She pressed her body against his and reached her hands around his neck.

It was like he was high. He dug his hands into her hair and kissed her harder. She rolled her body against his and he let out a groan. They moved towards the edge of the smoke-filled dance floor, where it was darker.

This wasn't romantic. It was angry, and it was fire. Somehow Sakura knew all the right things to do, and it seemed like he was having the same effect on her. Sasuke pulled her closer and she let out a sigh that sent electricity running through him. Her pushed her hair away from her face, kissing her hungrily. She pushed him up against the wall with surprising strength and knotting her fingers in his hair. They weren't being gentle with each other. Sakura slammed her hips against his, and his fingers tightened on her waist.

Her tongue was in his mouth and his hands were on her waist and the music was pulsing in his ears. And the only thing he was thinking about right now was this moment: her smell and the feel of her body and the way she was kissing him.

There was door that led to a small hallway, Sasuke knew that much from the other times he'd been here. He pushed it open with his shoulder, still kissing her, and Sakura kicked it closed behind them. The bass was thumping from the other room and Sakura loosened her grip on his waist for a moment. They were both breathing hard, and they pulled apart for a split second just to stare at each other. Her eyes were a much darker green than they'd been earlier, and her lips were swollen. Just making eye contact sent heat running down him, and then the moment was gone: Sakura pulled him over to the other wall, where a few boxes were stacked. Sasuke sat on one of them, legs open, and she climbed on top of him, her legs straddling his. He put one hand around her waist and the other behind her head and their lips collided.

"_God_." Sakura breathed. He could smell the alcohol on her breath and it should've been a warning but Sasuke barely thought about it; he caught a whiff of something flowery, probably her perfume. Sakura played with the hem of his t-shirt before starting to pull it up.

Sasuke took the hint and tossed it off without a second thought. Sakura ran her hands over his chest and then pulled down the straps of her dress. Her pink hair was falling down in a mess of waves and he pushed it away, exposing her shoulders. She pulled him closer to her and the two of them kissed again, hard, before she moved down, kissing him along his jawline and up to his ear. He felt her teeth on the shell of his ear before she pulled apart for a moment. He closed the distance again, kissing her down to her collarbone and making her gasp. He smirked until she hit a spot on his neck with her tongue and he groaned. She laughed into his ear and even in this fog Sasuke knew this had been a bad idea. Because he'd never felt like this before.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hey, at least you didn't have to wait 40 chapters for some action this time...hehe. Drunk Sasuke is fun. But unfortunately things never work out this easily..._

_Tell me what you think so far :)_


	3. Best Mistake

"I need to talk to you about last night." Sakura said.

"Aa." Sasuke agreed.

It was the morning after, and the two of them were standing near their buses in the Ishi Suites parking lot.

Last night had ended before it went too far...if 'too far' was the right description. The two of them had been interrupted by someone passing through the hallway, and then they'd gone (staggered) back into the club. Sakura had disappeared, and (Sasuke had assumed) gotten a cab back to wherever she was staying. Sasuke had texted Naruto and then gone straight back to the hotel.

He hadn't made the connection that they would be staying at the same place, and probably leaving at the same time the next morning (leaving extremely early was the only way to avoid people waiting to catch a glimpse of them). The realization that he'd have to see Sakura again didn't hit him until he woke up, throat dry and head pounding. _That_ was when he remembered what he'd done last night, and the only thought that had gone through his head was, _s__hit. _

Sasuke made a mental note to never get drunk with a girl, ever again.

"I—um…Look, I was _really_ drunk. If I did anything…" Sakura trailed off. She was wearing a t-shirt, and though her hair was down Sasuke could glimpse a few red marks that stood out on her neck. He felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Yeah. Me too." He frowned at the ground. "Went too far. It shouldn't have happened." Every minute, he was angrier with himself for it.

Sakura nodded and bit her lip (way too attractively). Sasuke had no idea what he should say now.

"So…I guess I might see you in Ame. In week or two." Sakura broke the silence awkwardly. They were avoiding each other's eyes; Sakura was fingering the hem of her t-shirt. She was wearing very little makeup and looked much younger, somehow. He'd thought she was his age, but maybe she was a year or two younger.

Honestly, it was hard to believe this was the same Sakura as last night; a whole other side of her had come out in the club. _The drunk side_, Sasuke thought, darkly amused for a moment before realizing that the exact same thing had happened to him. _Jesus Christ. _He hadn't even been completely hammered, either, which meant he remembered flashes of it. They were replaying in his mind, even now: her breath hot on his cheek, her fingers sliding down his chest, his hands on her waist, and—_W__hat the _fuck_ is wrong with you_, he thought angrily.

"Hn."

"It was, uh. Nice meeting you, I guess." She was bright red and looked like she'd rather be anywhere else (that was about how he was feeling).

"Aa. You too." Sasuke said without thinking. He didn't want to think about what he'd done last night. With _Sakura Haruno_, of all people.

And he _especially_ didn't want to think about how it had felt.

"Alright. Bye." She turned and started walking away, clearly eager to get away.

Sasuke turned and started walking back to his own bus without a word.

Once inside, he sat down on the bench by the window. The bus started up immediately, and Sasuke watched the parking lot grow smaller in the distance. _Good riddance. _

"So…You two gonna keep in touch?" Naruto appeared, grinning, in the doorway to the back. Kiba was right behind him.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke said, glaring out the window of their bus and refusing to take the bait. He'd known this would come eventually, because he'd been so fucking _stupid_ last night.

Kiba laughed. "Dude, when you said you weren't interested, I thought you were serious."

"Yeah, you were at it for a solid five minutes. Where the hell did you two go?" Naruto asked. "You disappeared."

"Out." Sasuke shrugged. There was no way Naruto was ever going to know the details. "Fresh air."

Naruto raised his eyebrows and grinned. "_Right_."

"Why would I lie."

"Oh, _I don't know_…"

Sasuke gave him a mutinous look.

"Really, though. That was pretty unexpected." Kiba said, an infuriating grin still on his face.

"We were shitfaced." Sasuke said through gritted teeth, knowing how unconvincing it sounded.

Kiba snorted.

"Aw, give him his privacy, Kiba," Naruto said. "I bet Sakura broke his heart."

"I'll kill you." Sasuke said in a low voice.

Naruto chuckled and then left, followed by Kiba. Sasuke knew he hadn't heard the end of it from them.

He'd been such an idiot…But no matter how hard he tried, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to regret last night. Not at all. And he wasn't really sure why.

He was supposed to hate Sakura Haruno, and this was really fucking irritating.

* * *

><p>It was a day of travel on the bus, which they were all more than used to, but it meant Sasuke had to spend hours around Kiba and Naruto's shit-eating grins (and sniggers), which appeared anytime they made eye contact with Sasuke. Shikamaru had disappeared to his bunk as soon as they'd gotten on the bus, and it looked like he wasn't going to be up anytime soon, so Sasuke had no backup to shut them up. In the end, he stayed on the window seat, laptop open and music blasting into his headphones so he didn't have to interact in any way with either of his bandmates (or act on the strong, strong urge to beat them up).<p>

Unfortunately, punk rock did nothing to distract him from Sakura Haruno, who wouldn't fucking leave his head.

When the other guys finally went to their bunks later that night (they wouldn't reach their next stop for a few hours, which meant sleeping on the bus), Sasuke stayed in the back and looked up Sakura Haruno. He wasn't going to risk doing it when Naruto and Kiba were around; if the word 'pink' even came up in conversation, they started giggling like five year olds. His music hadn't been loud enough to drown _that_ out.

He had the back of the bus to himself now. And Sasuke hated himself for it, but he listened to her entire first album (a fact that he would admit to no one, ever).

It was decent. Even _he_ couldn't pretend it wasn't, just like at her show the day before. His music ear took over everything else. Sasuke thought she sounded better live, but her music was undeniably good, despite obvious efforts by producers to turn it into mainstream pop. Only two songs had succumbed; the rest of the album was a style that was unique and, well, startling. Sakura Haruno was definitely legitimate; he didn't know if she wrote her own songs, but seeing her with a guitar for ten minutes had showed him that she knew what she was doing. And judging from the time they'd spent together at the club (as much as he didn't want to revisit that), he couldn't imagine that she didn't write her own music.

Sasuke was coming to the realization that she was going to be a serious problem for him.

* * *

><p>Even after leaving Ishi behind, Sakura was still mortified. She never, <em>never<em>, did things like that. Let alone _acted_ like that—just thinking about how she'd come onto him made her cringe. Sure, she'd gotten drunk her fair share of times with friends back home, and had been involved in plenty of hook-ups. But never like what she'd been doing with Sasuke Uchiha. That had been…Well, something else entirely.

Sasuke Uchiha. Lead guitarist of Firestyle, who was impossibly talented and also had a (pretty accurate?) reputation as being sullen and brooding. Tall, dark, and handsome.

Unfortunately, the handsome part was undeniably true. Sasuke Uchiha was ridiculously attractive, and the fact that he was a good kisser made it a hundred times worse. Sakura had prided herself on not falling in love with celebrities, but she had to admit that even though they'd never met, there was always something about him that had attracted her before this. And last night hadn't done anything to get rid of it. _It's that stupid smirk_, she thought, irritated. It made her stomach flip over like a middle school girl. Which was ridiculous.

She'd been drunk enough to hook up with him, but not drunk enough to forget every detail. Which meant that now the parts that she remembered were playing over and over in her head. The way his lips had felt on her neck, the pulses of electricity that had run through her body.

She'd never felt that with anyone else, and something told Sakura that it hadn't just been the alcohol.

She watched the outskirts of Ishi flash by; it had been a whirlwind trip, multiplied by whatever had happened last night. Sakura was sitting at the table in the front of her bus, guitar on the floor next to her. She almost picked it up, and then made a split-second decision to call Ino, her best friend back home. Sakura knew she wasn't going to be able to concentrate (and that's how she knew this was serious). She needed someone to talk to, even if it meant she had to spill the whole story.

Ino picked up on the second ring.

"Forehead! Oh my God it's been forever." She said in a rush, using Sakura's old nickname. No matter what had changed in Sakura's life, Ino had always been there.

"Are you okay? You sound totally out of breath."

"I got out of rehearsal literally a second ago." Ino said.

"How's it going?"

"Um, _awesome_." Ino had been dancing since before she could walk (even before she'd known Sakura, which was a _long_ time), and was currently working as a backup dancer for several different people. She was hoping to move up to more well-known acts, but she loved what she was doing. "So what's up? How was the show last night? I'm so mad I couldn't be there. You and _Firestyle_." Sakura could hear her grin.

"Actually, about that…" Sakura played with a stray pencil lying on the table, not sure how to start.

"What. Did you meet them? Well, obviously you did. Oh my God, they better not be jerks, I won't be able to get past it if they are."

"Yeah, I met them." Sakura said sheepishly. "I waited until they finished their set, which was amazing—"

"Obviously. Just tell me what they were like, in person."

"Okay, let me finish. They were all super nice, for the most part." She thought about Sasuke's aloofness and couldn't help smirking to herself. "Sasuke Uchiha's a bit standoffish." _When he's sober. _

Ino laughed. "Yeah, that's clearly not a stage persona. So did you guys talk?"

"A bit. And then they just asked me if I wanted to come out to a club with them. Well, all of them except Sasuke."

"He sounds like a winner," Ino said with a laugh.

"So I went with them."

There was a pause. "Wait. You _what_?"

"I went. To the club. With them."

"Holy crap. Sakura, you went to a club with _Firestyle_."

"Yeah, I realize that." Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

Ino was practically giddy. "So was it awesome?"

"It was…interesting."

"Why? What did you do?"

"Not much. I mean, I was dancing and it was fun. I was talking to Sasuke Uchiha, actually. And…We were both drinking a lot." She couldn't say it.

Ino paused for a moment. Then, "You guys totally hooked up, didn't you."

"Um—"

"Don't even deny it. Oh my God!" Ino said triumphantly, and Sakura sighed.

"Ino—"

"Jesus _Christ_ that must've been hot."

"Ino. You're not helping."

"Yeah, okay, sorry. So how was it?"

"It got really, um..."

"PG-13?"

"I pulled off his shirt. We were in a back room." Sakura was bright red.

"Wow. _Wow_." Sakura could tell Ino was enjoying every second of this, and she was regretting even telling her.

"Anyway, we stopped before anything else really happened." Sakura said hurriedly. "But I saw him this morning and it was really, really awkward."

Ino laughed. "Well, it was just a one time thing, right?"

"I think so." She'd assumed so, anyway. Sakura wasn't about to have her heart broken by Sasuke Uchiha. Who she barely even knew, anyway.

"Then who cares? You made out with Sasuke Uchiha. And he's filthy rich and famous and doesn't need the publicity, so he won't say anything about it. There are no disadvantages."

_Except my feelings_, Sakura thought. "Yeah, I guess. This whole thing is just so weird, though."

"Welcome to your life. Everything's gonna be weird. But come on, don't sound so bummed. You're going to Ame!"

Sakura smiled involuntarily at the thought. She was headlining in Ame, one of the biggest music festivals of the year. Just thinking about it was enough to stir up her stomach in excitement.

"Yeah, you're right. I wish you could come, though." Sakura hadn't been home in two months, and that was the last time she'd seen Ino in person.

"God, me too. You'd better keep me updated. I mean, if your schedule allows for it." Sakura heard the sarcasm in Ino's voice.

"Oh, come on." Sakura said, rolling her eyes. If her schedule ever stopped allowing time to talk to Ino, Sakura would quit the whole thing.

Ino laughed. "Alright. I have to get back, we're starting up again. Good luck this week!"

"Thanks. Talk to you soon."

"Bye!" Ino hung up, and Sakura put her phone away. She missed Ino the most at times like this; the days of confiding everything in each other were long gone, and ever since Sakura's career had taken off, she'd been traveling more and more often. Sometimes she was incredibly lonely, but she was also doing what she loved. She'd always known there would be a compromise with music, and she'd accepted it.

Sakura went to the back of the bus and curled up on the plush window seat. It was her favorite place, away from the alcove where her manager, Orochimaru, always worked and where her team tended to congregate. But for these few hours, she had the bus all to herself; just her and her driver, Tazuna, who also served as a security guard. It was an eight-hour drive to Ame, interrupted by a rest stop in three hours to pick up part of her team. But three hours was everything. She stared out the window, watching the highway and rocky hills go by.

She couldn't stop thinking about Sasuke Uchiha. Or last night. And despite everything, Sakura couldn't bring herself to regret it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _Would've had this up earlier, but ffnet decided to stop working. _

_Anyway, unlike cars and football, I actually know a good amount about music from playing/listening to it lol, so I'm not totally fudging everything here. Thanks for all the reviews so far and keep telling me what you think :) _


	4. Stuck On You

Two days later, after a few concerts on the way to Ame and time to clear his head, Sasuke was putting his preoccupation with Sakura Haruno down to curiosity because of her music. _Obviously_ it was a music thing; after seeing her perform in Ishi, he couldn't help being interested. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Sakura Haruno was a good musician. And that's what happened when good musicians met each other: they were interested in each other's work.

_That's bullshit, and you know it. _He'd even watched interviews with her, like a total creep, and was torn between being disgusted by her sweetness towards everyone, and intrigued by her sarcastic edge. She played the cameras naturally, whether she was talking or singing. He should hate her. Or even better: not care about her at all.

Sasuke had hooked up with plenty of girls, whatever his lone wolf reputation said about him; it came with the business. He didn't remember any of them, and he didn't really feel guilty about that. But this was different. It was just something _about_ her, and it was keeping him from sleeping. The only thought running through his head, over and over, was _what the fuck is wrong with you? _His irritation and general stewing had even caused a few of the band's staff, also staying on the bus, to ask him (hesitantly) if anything was wrong.

There were ten people on the bus this week, almost maximum capacity. Sasuke stuck to the back of the bus, away from the crowd at the front. Shikamaru, who liked to sleep on one of the couch in the back, didn't bother getting him to talk. Sasuke, as always, was grateful for that. It was probably one of the reasons the two of them worked so well together. Unlike when Naruto or Kiba was there, writing sessions with just the two of them were quiet, and generally pretty productive. When Shikamaru decided to put aside his laziness, he could do a lot. All four of them had invaluable things to add to the band's sound, but the work that Sasuke and Shikamaru did had gotten them two ridiculously successful albums. Clearly the two of them were doing something right.

But neither of them had been writing recently, too busy with their current schedule, which meant there was nothing to distract Sasuke from his unwelcome thoughts, which were annoyling pink-tinged and annoylingly present in the back of his mind.

* * *

><p>It had been five days since Ishi when Sasuke was lying on his bunk, listening to the muffled whir of the bus engine. He'd been the last one to go to bed; everyone else's curtains were shut, and he heard muffled snores as he climbed up into his bed.<p>

That had been about an hour ago, and he was still wide awake. They would be reaching Ame in the morning, for a hectic few days of performances and press, but there was no way to force yourself to go to sleep (Sasuke refused to take medication except when essential). He didn't know what the problem was; he'd never been a deep sleeper, but he'd also never been an insomniac. Until now, apparently. He twisted and turned, trying to clear everything out of his mind...

"Yo, teme! We're here!" Naruto's voice jolted him awake.

Sasuke rolled over with a sigh and pushed his sheet away. The curtain was pulled across his bed, but Naruto was pounding on the space between their bunks. Yet again Sasuke cursed ever agreeing to bunk above him.

"Fuck off, dobe." He muttered, and Naruto sniggered as if this exact scenario didn't happen all the time.

"Sasuke, we've gotta go," Kiba said loudly. "Get your ass out here, even Shikamaru's up."

Sasuke wrenched the curtain open and slid down to the floor, almost hitting Naruto in the face with his foot. _If only. _He pulled a fresh shirt out and shoved into the tiny bus bathroom to change. The other guys had no qualms about changing in front of each other (living in close quarters with the same people immediately shot modesty straight out the window), but Sasuke had always liked privacy.

When he came back out, the three of them were waiting at the front of the bus with Kakashi, who must have just arrived.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Kakashi said, wearing his usual slight smirk behind the bandana he always wore. Kakashi had been their manager since the band had gotten their start with their first record deal, and since then he'd always been a steady presence.

"Kakashi." Sasuke said by way of greeting. Kakashi hadn't been around for the past week; he'd been with another client, and the assistant manager had been organizing the schedule.

"A little tired?" Kakashi asked him, smirking.

Sasuke didn't even respond. He knew the band owed a ridiculous amount to Kakashi (too much to ever repay), but that had never stopped him from getting irritated with Kakashi's droll (at times almost mocking) comments. One thing was for sure: Kakashi was never going to let the four of them get too arrogant. He was a strange guy, but Sasuke knew he cared about the band, which was why he'd been with them so long.

"He had some drama in Ishi," Naruto said with a grin.

"I won't even ask," Kakashi said with a sigh, and Sasuke couldn't help smirking at Naruto's disappointed face. "Alright, you're getting picked up for rehearsal any minute. I just came by to make sure you knew what was going on. I'll be here for the whole time, there are some other things that I might try to get you into."

Sasuke made a mental note to have a conversation with Kakashi about said things, because after the unwelcome surprise in Ishi, he wasn't letting them be part of any other pop concerts.

"Sounds good!" Naruto said.

There was a honk from outside. "There's your ride," Kakashi said, just as his phone started ringing. "Yeah, they'll be out in a minute," he said to whoever was calling. "I should have the schedule sorted by tonight, so I'll meet you for dinner." He said.

"Sure." Shikamaru said with a yawn. "See you later, Kakashi."

"Thanks, Kakashi." Kiba said, picking up his bass from the couch.

Sasuke went to retrieve his guitar from his bunk and followed the other three out. Kakashi stopped him at the door. "Drama in Ishi?" He raised an eyebrow.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's nothing." He muttered.

Kakashi looked amused. "Clearly not." He said, and Sasuke frowned. "I know you too well, Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke pushed past him, refusing to agree, and followed the other three outside.

They were in a huge lot, sectioned off by barriers and fences. There was a large golf cart waiting right outside the bus to take them to the venue, and though the festival didn't start for two days, the area was mobbed with workers and other staff. When the four of them left the bus, Sasuke felt various eyes on him.

The rest of the band's team was there in various vans. People were unloading equipment and one of the assistant managers jogged over to talk to Kakashi. The bodyguards were there, standing by the golf cart.

"This way, this way," a person said, hurrying them along. A golf cart sped them down a back path and through several gates, until they reached the Ame main stage.

The lighting and sound people had swarmed the stage, along with a bunch of people with clipboards; Sasuke had long since stopped trying to figure out what they did, let alone their names.

The Ame Music Festival was already a huge event with multiple concert areas, but since their band was headlining, they'd also be playing the biggest venue. It was an outdoor festival; easily over two thousand people could fit in front of the giant temporary stage. _She must be playing a morning show_, Sasuke thought suddenly. Firestyle was playing on Saturday night, the day after the opening, but he didn't think Sakura Haruno was quite at that level. Then again, getting the main stage at any time of day was huge.

She must be getting big. Sasuke had known she had radio hits, but he hadn't realized how fast she was climbing the ladder. He had the urge to find out what day she was playing.

_Why do you even care? _He thought angrily, getting a firmer grip on his guitar case and heading up the back stairs behind Shikamaru. A few people pushed the four of them through to the front of the stage, where the drums and keyboard were already set up. One of Kiba's basses was out on a stand; unlike Sasuke, Kiba didn't really care which guitar he played at shows.

Someone fitted Sasuke with a microphone, and he pulled out his guitar. Sasuke had more than one guitar (several, actually), but he played his same electric one at almost every show. It was old, retrofitted when he'd had the money after they'd gotten their first record deal, but he'd been playing it since high school and wouldn't hear of getting anything new. He experimented with new models (even owned a few), but his old guitar had gotten him to this point, and its sound would always be his favorite.

It was like a natural extension to his arm, and other guitars were never the same. He knew it inside out, every sound that it made and which frets were worn down from so much use. Sure, he liked playing other ones, but that was always like wearing gloves: eventually you always wanted to take them off.

They ran through a few songs while people tested the speakers and the mess of lights installed above the stage. Usually the production team cooked up some kind of ridiculous flashing light plan for certain songs. "It has to be a _show_," Sasuke remembered a designer saying at one of the rare production meetings he'd actually been to. Naruto liked to go to them and give his input, but Sasuke preferred to stay out of it. As long as he didn't have to dance or wear a stupid costume (he'd had to put his foot down in the past about both), he could put up with lights and fire and moving sets.

"Hold up!" Sasuke heard a megaphone, halfway through 'Shards', and they cut off abruptly. "We've got a problem with two of the fixtures."

Outdoor shows were always less professional and harder to fix, so Sasuke assumed it would be at least a few minutes before they started up again. Someone brought him a water bottle, and another person brought out folding chairs. So it _would_ be a while.

Shikamaru was fiddling around on the piano, playing a lazy jazz version of one of their faster songs. Naruto caught Sasuke's eye and grinned; Sasuke just looked at him coolly, still thinking about Naruto's middle school level of obnoxiousness from earlier.

"Can we get quiet on the stage?" Someone yelled through a microphone.

Shikamaru sat back, yawning.

Sasuke's mind drifted to Sakura, because apparently it just _did_ that now. He'd seen a few tour buses in various spots on the way to the venue, but he hadn't talked to anyone in a while so he didn't know who else was here. The chances of running into other people were low; security was tight and musicians weren't allowed to go out into the general festival area, in an effort to prevent total chaos. There were usually a few parties at the end for the performers, but Sasuke tended to avoid those because the press was always allowed in to mingle. The first time they'd been to Ame, it had been a total sensory overload. By now, Sasuke was used to it. He wondered if Sakura Haruno was. Then again, she knew exactly how to handle the press, so it shouldn't be hard for her. She probably liked the attention.

"Alright! Let's start #3 from the top again!" The megaphone cut into his thoughts, and Sasuke stood up again.

* * *

><p>After finishing their rehearsal, the band was shuttled off to press tents, where Kakashi was waiting. He briefed them on what they should say, and Sasuke half-listened, bored. He never had to do the talking in interviews; Naruto tended to speak for all of them. Sasuke was fine with it. There was nothing he hated more than when interviewers tried to get him to talk, with ridiculous grins and bad jokes.<p>

They had three rounds of press to do; the first was some kind of entertainment channel, where a man and woman were sitting eagerly. Three cameras were arranged around a makeshift set; the four of them were directed to chairs by a few tech people.

"Hi, it's great to meet you!" the female interviewer said, smiling with too many teeth.

"You too!" Naruto said, ever the publicist's dream. They went around shaking hands before someone gave the go to start and the cameras started rolling.

"This is Fuki, your regular gossip correspondent, with the exclusive coverage of the Ame Music Festival preshow excitement! I'm here with my colleague Arashi, and…Wait for it…" The camera panned to the band. "Firestyle, of course!"

Sasuke would've raised his eyebrows, but he knew that would be playing the camera. Looking indifferent (and barely speaking) had gotten him his reputation, and while he didn't really care, he tried to avoid pushing it farther. He hated giving them what they wanted.

"So, we have to say first of all, we're so excited you guys are back in Ame." The guy, Arashi, said. "Anything particularly special in store for Saturday night?"

"Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies," Shikamaru said with a shrug and a slight smile. "It'll be good."

"It'll be better than good," Naruto said, grinning. "We can't wait to blow up the stage."

"Hopefully not literally," Fuki said with a little laugh, and Sasuke restrained an eye roll.

"Eh, you can't have a good concert without a little panic." Kiba said, and both interviewers laughed.

"Do all of you agree with that?" Arashi asked, looking directly at Sasuke.

"I'd say so." Sasuke said, his voice bored. It was so damn easy to satisfy them.

Fuki gave a little giggle. "Okay, we only have a minute left, but I _have_ to ask. What's in store for the future?" She asked in a conspiratorial tone.

Kakashi nodded at them from next to the camera.

"We're always working on stuff," Shikamaru said.

"And we're dropping something new in a few weeks," Kiba said with a grin. "Can't say anything else."

"Is this the rumored Gaara Sabaku collaboration?" She asked, eyes wide for the cameras.

"We can't say anything, sorry." Shikamaru said.

Sasuke tapped his foot restlessly and Kakashi caught his eye, raising an eyebrow. He stopped. It was a habit that Sasuke thought had been trained out of him long ago, but maybe he was more preoccupied than normal.

"Well, I guess we'll have that surprise to look forward to. Thank you so much, guys! We'll all be watching on Saturday night!"

"Cut!" Someone yelled, and everyone relaxed for a moment before people descended on the set again, pushing the band towards the next interview.

* * *

><p>"Okay, it's a roll, and then grab the microphone, and then two steps back…One, two. It's subtle, it'll look so great." The choreographer stepped back, smiling.<p>

Sakura nodded and wiped her forehead. It had been two hours since she'd started rehearsal for her Ame show. She'd been up since before dawn that morning, partly from excitement and partly from necessity; the rest of her team had been up working early. Just pulling into their designated area in Ame had given her a thrill. The bus was surrounded by vans and tents; she hadn't glimpsed any other musicians, but she also wasn't really sure what to expect. She'd played festivals before, but never on a main stage (and never on this big on a scale—Ame was by far the biggest festival of the fall).

It had been a rush since she'd gotten off the tour bus, going to the first venue and then the second venue for rehearsals, and now she was back in one of the tents, running her choreography for the big performance on Sunday afternoon. She was doing a smaller set on Monday, the venue was slightly more intimate (if an outdoor stage _could_ be called intimate). The festival ended on Tuesday. Sakura wished she could go out and see more (but they'd given her the strict security requirements), some of her favorite musicians were going to be here. Along with Firestyle, but she was trying not to think about that.

At least the odds of seeing Sasuke Uchiha were slim to nonexistent. Still, part of her wished that weren't true.

_What would you say to him, anyway? _She asked herself ruefully. _He's forgotten about it by now. You should too. _Sasuke Uchiha probably hooked up with every girl he met without a second thought. The fact that she was still stuck on him showed that she'd learned _nothing_ from this business.

But no matter how many times she'd told herself that same thing, it wasn't working. Even through the rehearsals, and briefings before the approaching round of interviews, and the production team's changes to her setlist that she couldn't keep track of, he was always in the back of her mind. She hadn't felt like this since…when? Sasori Akasuna in high school? _God. _No, this wasn't that bad. She didn't even _like_ Sasuke Uchiha, not like that. Sure, she'd spent an hour a few days ago watching Firestyle interviews. But they were a good band. Sasuke Uchiha was a good guitarist. That was it. Wasn't it?

"Sakura? Are you listening?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Sakura shook her head and smiled at the choreographer, who was staring at her expectantly.

_Whatever_. She was shutting it away for now, there were much more important things to worry about. She slammed a door on Sasuke Uchiha and resolved to focus on what was in front of her.

"Sorry. I just felt really tired all of a sudden."

"Someone get her a water bottle, please." One of the production assistants standing on the side said, and immediately Sakura found a water bottle in her hand. She still wasn't used to this, having her every need seen to. It was unnerving.

"Alright, we've got a 3:00 call for the press tent," the same assistant (Sakura couldn't remember his name, and she felt horrible about it) said. "Can we get back to the makeup trailer, please?"

Ten minutes later Sakura was in a makeup chair, getting briefed by Orochimaru, who would be there for the whole festival.

"Now, don't go telling too much," he said, smirking (Sakura hated his smirk, but she'd never tell him that). "We want to keep some mystery about what's coming up."

Sakura nodded. "Okay."

"Look up," Suzume, her makeup artist, said, before tracing Sakura's lower lids with eyeliner.

"Just keep to the main points," Orochimaru drawled. "You do so well with the normal drill, we're going to stick to it."

Sakura frowned but didn't say anything. Orochimaru had gotten her to where she was, and she was incredibly grateful for that. But recently he'd been rubbing her the wrong way, and she wasn't really sure why. He was her manager, of course he'd make the decisions about where she was going. She just wished she had a bit more of a say in what she was doing (particularly what she sang—he'd arranged almost the entire setlist).

_You knew what you were getting into_, she thought, irritated with herself. _Don't start acting like this. _

"Alright, we're all done." Suzume said. She turned Sakura to face the mirror.

It wasn't a total shock to see herself after this anymore. The first few times she'd had her makeup done, Sakura had felt so…weird. Ino had laughed at her for it. But now it was just normal routine. They

"Excellent. I'll call the car to go down to the press tent." Orochimaru said, standing up. "Your outfit's in the closet."

Sakura changed into the lace shirt and tight pants that had been set out for her, and then went out to the car that was waiting.

* * *

><p>The press tent was cordoned off in sections, so Sakura couldn't tell if there were other people being interviewed. Her team rushed her into the first area, where a full set had been assembled; a man and woman sat on stools. The woman was having her makeup adjusted, and someone immediately came up to Sakura to touch up her own makeup.<p>

"It is so great to finally meet you!" The woman said, coming up to greet Sakura with a wide smile. She had dark hair that was short and spiky. "I'm Fuki. This is Arashi."

The guy gave her a wave, and Sakura smiled at him.

"Alright, rolling in five," a cameraman said, and someone led Sakura to a third stool. "And…Now."

"Hello, this is Fuki, back again with Arashi and yet more exclusive coverage in Ame. This time we're here with the beautiful and talented Sakura Haruno. Can I just say you look absolutely lovely?"

"Oh God, thank you." Sakura said.

"You look amazing all the time, though, I have to say." Fuki said. "I'm a little jealous."

"It's all my hair and makeup team." Sakura said, and Fuki laughed. Sakura saw Orochimaru nod approvingly with a slight smirk.

"Now, you're quite the rising star." Arashi said. "Is this all so crazy for you?"

"It's a total whirlwind," Sakura said truthfully. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, honestly."

Fuki nodded. "Well, you're handling it effortlessly. We've been chatting with people all day, and you're just as calm as the veterans. Speaking of which, how is it knowing you're going to be playing on the same stage as some of the industry's biggest?"

"It's…Pretty crazy. I'm sort of wading in, though, I was just in Ishi—"

"Oh, right!" Fuki said. "I'd forgotten. We should've brought that up with the boys earlier," she said to Arashi with a smile at the cameras. "I think Firestyle likes to show up wherever they can to make a splash, but that must have been a concert to see."

Sakura felt a jolt in her stomach at the name, and pushed it aside.

Someone signaled to them, saying they only had a minute left.

"Well, I know you have to run, but one last question." Arashi said. "What's coming up? You're on track to becoming the biggest name of this year, but are there any other surprises?"

Sakura laughed. "I'm just going to enjoy all of this," she said. "I think that's all for now. And I'm always working on stuff, but I don't want to make any promises too quickly."

"Smart girl! Well, you're going to be enjoying this for a long time," Arashi said.

"It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Sakura. Good luck on Sunday and have a blast." Fuki said.

"I will. Thank you so much!" Sakura said.

"Cut!" The cameras stopped rolling.

"Can we get some water up here?" Fuki called.

"Okay, Sakura, this way," someone said, and Sakura got up. "Thanks," she said to the interviewers.

They both smiled at her. "You are so lovely," Fuki said to her. "Have a great time."

Sakura said goodbye and then Orochimaru was there again, leading her on to the next interview.

The thought of her performance kept Sakura's energy up. Being on that stage would make this worth it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _Parallel chapters are fun for a bit, but I promise I won't do them all the time for the sake of not being totally repetitive. _

_Also I found out that t__here are about a hundred songs called 'Stuck on You' lol but the one I had in mind is by New Politics. _


	5. This Feeling

The band rose up to the stage to deafening screams.

It was contagious, really. There was an adrenaline rush like no other that came with performing in front of an audience like this. The lights were blinding and there was no way to tell the sheer size of the crowd other than their noise. The first chord of their opening song only made the screams louder, and Sasuke could feel the energy pulsing.

"YO, AME!" Naruto yelled after their first song, and the crowd responded with screams. "THIS SHOW'S GONNA BE INTENSE!"

They were doing six of their loudest, most vigorous songs. Ame was always a spectacle, and the main stage was too big to not go all out (at least, that was the thinking of the production team).

The jets of fire burst up again as they launched into their next song, and the screams intensified. Shikamaru had left his keyboard and was riling up the audience at the front of the stage. Sasuke felt the energy coursing through his body and then a glaringly bright light was shining on him, flashing red and white as he took up the song solely with his guitar. He couldn't see anything, but this was straight music, and he tore up the solo like it was the only thing on his mind. Then Naruto slammed the bass drum, taking up the beat again, and Shikamaru and Kiba joined back in. Sasuke could barely hear his guitar over the crowd.

"We've got one last song for you," Shikamaru said what could've been an hour or five seconds later, leaning into the microphone at the front of the stage. "And then we're out."

People were chanting the band's name. "Thanks for an awesome night!" Naruto yelled. He ripped off his shirt and hurled it out towards the crowd. "One, two, ONE TWO THREE FOUR!" The sound was being pumped even louder through the speakers as they launched into their final song.

The lights shut off all at once at the end, drenching the stage in darkness and causing the audience to go wild They were still chanting, but the band had already been told not to do an encore, so they left the stage quickly.

Sasuke's t-shirt was soaked in sweat, and all of a sudden he could see and hear again. They ducked behind the back of the stage, where a whole group of people was waiting. The sound of the crowd was slightly muffled behind the wall.

"Can we get you anything? A fresh shirt, or maybe some mineral water?" Someone asked Sasuke.

Two years ago, Sasuke would've scoffed at this. Now, he didn't give it a second thought, just shook his head and followed the other guys. Kakashi was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, by several trailers.

"Good show," he said to them, smiling slightly.

"Thanks, man!" Naruto, still at the top of his performance high, slapped Kakashi on the back and then drained a water bottle. "That crowd was awesome."

"They're always good," Shikamaru said, wiping his forehead. "Also, put on a shirt, Naruto."

"Dude, if we were taking off shirts you should've told me," Kiba said, pulling off his old one and accepting another from a waiting staff member.

"Sometimes that sort of thing can be overkill," Kakashi said, and Sasuke smirked. If there was a place for ridiculous choreography, it was Ame, but some things were completely stupid.

"Whatever," Kiba said, grinning. He tossed back a water bottle as well. "Damn, they're loud." The crowd was still screaming.

"Who's on after us?" Shikamaru asked.

"There's a break, and then Anbu's playing." Kakashi said. "So we should get out of the way. Our team's clogging the path."

They all got on a golf cart, which would take them back to the bus. Sasuke could feel himself coming down from the adrenaline rush. It _had_ been a good crowd, he thought reluctantly. Not that the band should get anything else.

The golf cart brought them almost to the parking lot, but there was short stretch before the parking lot that they had to walk, since the lot was now packed with trailers. Unfortunately, the fans had found the area, and no matter how many people were around them, there was no way to be completely separate.

Security rushed the band down the path; there were people screaming on either side, held back by safety barriers. Sasuke didn't acknowledge either side, just walked fast. He'd learned to tune it out.

"Marry me, Sasuke!" Someone screamed, and he didn't even look up.

A minute later, they were back in the sanctuary of the barricaded parking lot, where they went back to the bus.

"Jesus Christ," Shikamaru said once the door was shut behind them. "They get more insane every year."

"We should've stayed behind to do some autographs," Naruto said, looking slightly disappointed.

"Relax, dude," Kiba said. "Those are the psychopath fans."

"Hn." Sasuke said. That was for sure.

"No, they're just energetic!" Naruto protested.

"Whatever." Shikamaru yawned. Twenty five minutes onstage had clearly drained him of all energy. "I'm going to bed."

Sasuke went to his bunk too, but not to sleep. He watched the live feed from the Anbu (a metal band) set on his phone. He couldn't help wishing sometimes that he could go out and see the performances himself. Not that being in a sweaty, screaming crowd was worth it. Still, he usually snuck out at least once.

He resolved to do that tomorrow, which was also the day that he knew Sakura Haruno was performing. Not that she had anything to do with it.

* * *

><p>Sasuke had looked up the schedule to see when she was playing one of the smaller stages (he wasn't going anywhere near the main stage). It was early Monday afternoon; the band was free all day, which meant he had time to go out.<p>

It was easy to get over to the venue; he knew the back paths. There was no way he was going to watch the whole thing. Just one or two songs, and then he'd go see whatever else he could catch before security flipped out that he was gone.

Sasuke reached the back of the open amphitheater a few songs into her set. Just from the sound of the crowd, before really hearing anything himself, he could tell she had them eating out of her hand. _Typical. _

It was a decent-sized venue and his view of the stage was blocked by some equipment, but there was a monitor nearby. When Sasuke had arrived she'd been in the middle of a faster acoustic song (he recognized it from her album) standing center stage with her guitar. He watched her on the screen, not her face so much as her hands.

She was riffing so subtly it was probably barely noticeable to the crowd, but Sasuke was extremely impressed. He couldn't explain it, but somehow he just knew that she wrote her own music.

It was just her, alone on the stage, and she started playing a slower song. This must be a strictly acoustic performance—whatever she'd done on the main stage had probably been a blowout concert with sets and everything.

Her voice was aching with emotion, and Sasuke thought vaguely that this didn't seem like the right song to be playing at a festival like this. His eyes had moved to her face, slightly blurred on the monitor but clear enough to see every expression that crossed it.

By the third song he really noticed it. Sakura did this thing sometimes when she played, closed her eyes and got lost in the music. It was one of those quirks that people tried to rehearse out of you when you went into the industry, particularly the pop world. Once you got big, after you made the huge hits, you could backtrack and go emotional again. But at that point the real music had been trained out of a lot of people.

Since the rock world wasn't so much about image (though maybe that was hypocritical), Sasuke hadn't had that experience. He resisted anything marketed.

He couldn't help being struck by it in Sakura. She was a musician, not just a performer, that was obvious. It was clear that she loved music, loved it as much as he'd loved it when he first started. Not that he didn't now, but something had just gotten a bit tired about the whole thing. He used to love every minute he was playing guitar, and while that feeling wasn't gone, he only really stirred when he found an interesting new combination, or figured out a riff that he really liked.

The applause and cheers at the end of the song pulled him out of his thoughts and suddenly he was moving away, past the crowd on one of the winding paths he knew from experience.

Sasuke snuck around to the area behind the stage, making up his mind as he bypassed security barriers. There were a lot of people milling around, but no one noticed him until he was much closer to the stage.

"This is a restricted area," a guy in a security uniform said, barring the way with his body.

Sasuke took off his baseball cap. "I should I have clearance."

"Ah. Sasuke Uchiha. Of course." He stood back immediately. The perks of being famous. Sasuke supposed he should still feel lucky that playing the celebrity card had worked, but confidence tended to get you anywhere.

Sasuke walked straight past him before he could rethink this. _You're an idiot_, he thought as he reached the trailers behind the stage, but he kept walking until he reached the stairs leading down from the stage. The applause for the song she'd been playing was deafening.

"Thanks!" He heard her say. "Thank you so much, this was awesome!"

A minute later she was coming backstage, completely alone, and Sasuke was seriously regretting this decision. But then she was at the top of the stairs, and she saw him.

Her eyes widened, and then she frowned. It looked like she was speechless. Still, she came down the stairs, and then they were face to face.

"I—What are _you_ doing here?" She asked him, ignoring any kind of greeting.

"Wanted to talk to you." Sasuke said, cursing how stupid he sounded.

"Um…Look, I don't know what you'd want to talk to me about, I thought we agreed to forget the Ishi thing." She was blushing and clearly confused.

"It's not about that." Sasuke said.

She frowned. "Then what?"

"You want to go out for dinner sometime?" It just came out.

Sakura was clearly shocked, but she collected herself remarkably quickly. She raised her eyebrows. "Wait, seriously?"

He shrugged. "Aa."

She rolled her eyes and looked slightly amused. "Yeah. Sure. I mean, assuming this isn't some sick joke."

"Hn. No." He frowned. "Just figured I'd ask. That night at the club…"

He was pretty sure she could see right through him, because she smiled slightly. "Yeah, me too." She shrugged, but he could see that she was still blushing. He smirked with satisfaction. Clearly this hadn't been one-sided.

"How did you even get back here, anyway?" Sakura asked, frowning suddenly and looking behind him at the large security barriers.

He shrugged. "Wasn't hard."

"Oh, right, I forgot who you are." She said, shaking her head with a grin. "Here, do you...want my number?"

"Sure." They took out their phones and exchanged numbers.

Sakura handed back his phone and glanced behind her. There were people starting to come out from the stage. "I have to go, I've got press stuff."

"Aa. Me too."

"So I guess I'll text you? I'm here for four days, I think."

"Us too. Just tell me when you're free."

"Um, sure." She still looked slightly puzzled by the whole thing, and Sasuke didn't blame her.

He went back the way he'd come, ducking behind a trailer outside the security barrier to avoid a group of girls who'd clearly just come from Sakura's show. Sometimes even the back paths weren't safe.

But he made it back to the bus without any other close calls. Naruto and Kiba were on the couch inside, watching the live feed of some performance.

"Where've you been, teme?" Naruto demanded when Sasuke entered the bus. "Don't tell me you snuck out to watch people! You should've brought us!"

"You don't know how to get around. You'd cause a mob." Sasuke said. It wasn't even a lie; Naruto knew how to summon people out of nowhere (probably due to his permanently loud voice), and always ended up surrounded by hordes of fans.

"That's my job." Naruto said, waving a hand. Sasuke rolled his eyes and Kiba chuckled.

"Where's Kakashi." Sasuke said. "I thought we had to go out."

"He's meeting with someone. We've gotta go do press in like half an hour." Kiba said.

"Great." Sasuke muttered. He ducked under the doorway and made his way to the back. As he pulled out his guitar to try and get something done before they had to go out for the evening, the past hour sunk in completely.

He'd asked Sakura Haruno out. Like an idiot (or a naïve teenager). God, he was stupid.

He didn't regret it nearly as much as he wanted to.

* * *

><p>Sakura knew exactly what Ino would say if she heard about Sasuke Uchiha asking her out: "Don't get hurt."<p>

And she knew the risks. In this business, people used you like dirt and threw you away the second they were done with you. Relationships could go the exact same way, and Sakura knew she was the naïve one in this case.

The more she was letting herself think about it, the more something like that was making sense: Sasuke Uchiha was famous for never doing anything remotely romantic with anyone. He was the epitome of a lone wolf. Clearly he had a system for this: hook ups here and there. He probably paid off the girls so they wouldn't talk. She'd heard rumors of similar arrangements with various people trying to keep up a reputation (it was all so disgusting).

But something told her that it wasn't going to be like that. It seemed stupid (Sakura knew Ino would roll her eyes if she attempted to describe it), but the way Sasuke had looked at her, not to mention how uncomfortable it had been, said that he didn't do this often. That awkwardness, which she could see flashes of underneath his carefully blasé attitude, was one of the reasons she'd been so preoccupied with him. Sasuke Uchiha had layers under the surface. Not to mention he'd broken a bunch of rules, going out of his way to even talk to her (even though he'd acted like it wasn't a big deal at all). And unless it had only appeared so because of some kind of ridiculous acting ability, he clearly hadn't thought out what he was going to say. If anything, it had slipped out reluctantly.

He would've had a system for this whole thing: get in touch with one of her assistants, or even have gotten her number that night at her club. If he'd really wanted to use her, wouldn't he have been a little cooler about the whole thing? She was pretty sure he hadn't liked her when they first met, at all. In fact, it had been such a negative feeling that she'd been surprised, considering it was coming from someone who radiated indifference all the time. And then that night had confused everything.

_Jesus Christ, Sakura_, she thought to herself. Well, what harm would one night do? She knew exactly what she could be walking into, and that was a bigger advantage than anything.

When she texted Sasuke a few days later, telling him she was free that night, Sakura resolved to go in lightly. No deep feelings.

Hopefully it wasn't too late for that.

* * *

><p>They met on Wednesday night, when the majority of the crowds had cleared out after the final big performances on Monday.<p>

Sasuke had slipped out of the parking lot the back way, so the paparazzi were nowhere to be seen. The address he'd given Sakura was a street corner with a bunch of food trucks (he had decent knowledge of the area); restaurants were out of the question, because of the time and place. He waited on the corner, leaning against a streetlight. God, this was ridiculous. He hadn't been on a date since—well, never. _Jesus Christ. _

"Hey." Suddenly there she was. She'd surprised him, coming from the opposite way he was looking, but Sasuke didn't let it show.

"Hi." He said. Sakura was wearing jeans and a black sweater, not particularly dressy, and Sasuke suddenly wondered if maybe she wasn't quite so put together in real life as her stage outfits made her look. He was irritated with himself for even being surprised; he knew exactly how a team of people changed the way you were seen.

"So…" She looked up at him expectantly. She was wearing more makeup than she had been in the parking lot that one day, but it had clearly been done on her own terms. "Did you have a particular place in mind?"

"This is the only option. Restaurants aren't going to work." He said.

"Oh, God, duh. I didn't even think about that." Sakura rolled her eyes at herself.

Sasuke smirked, unable to stop himself. She was so genuinely naïve about fame. "This is okay for you, right?"

"Yeah, of course it is." Sakura said, waving a hand. "Honestly, I'm just glad to be out of the Ame bubble. It'll be good to order my own food."

"Tch." Sasuke said. "You snuck out?"

"Yeah." He expected her to blush and act embarrassed about it, but she didn't. "My makeup artist's covering for me. I told them I was going over to her trailer for a few hours." She said it like she did this kind of thing all the time. Well, the way she'd been kissing him told him she had experience. _Don't even think about that. _

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, and she frowned, clearly reconsidering what she'd done. "You don't think it's a big deal, do you?" It sounded so innocent. "I'm still getting used to all of this."

So she _didn't_ do this often. "Not the right person to be asking," Sasuke muttered, darkly amused. He'd never cared about that kind of thing.

"Wow, yeah. I almost forgot who I was talking to." Sakura said dryly.

It was extremely easy to talk to her, Sasuke realized. And they were both sober, unlike the conversation at the bar.

They found themselves at the last food truck, where they ordered fish tacos. Sasuke paid for both of them without a second thought.

"I knew you weren't a total jerk," Sakura said, giving him a smile that made him feel like they'd known each other for a long time.

He rolled his eyes and handed her the food bag. Their hands got slightly muddled, and when Sakura withdrew with the bag, she was blushing slightly. They walked along in silence for a minute.

"So. Should we do the 'getting to know you' stuff?" Sakura asked him. She unwrapped her food.

"Hn. Like what." Sasuke said.

"I don't know, the classics. Favorite color, childhood pets. Or favorite, like, punk band. That'd probably be more appropriate." She grinned.

"You like punk?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She just gave him an exasperated look. "Yet again, your bias is unbelievable. You realize that just because my music is one genre, doesn't mean I can't listen to other stuff? That's like assuming you've never listened to classical because you're all rock."

"Hn." She was right, obviously.

"You're a total purist, aren't you." Sakura said, amused. "And you don't even know what my music sounds like."

"Of course I do." He muttered, though he wasn't about to admit that he'd listened to a few songs more than once.

She raised her eyebrows and grinned. "That's surprising, considering I was pretty positive you hated me." She smiled slightly.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Well, rest assured that I didn't think you were amazing either." Sakura said, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

There was a low stone wall running along part of the sidewalk, and Sakura sat down. Sasuke followed her, leaving a few inches of space between them. They ate in silence for a minute or two, but Sakura didn't seem to be uncomfortable with it (not nearly as uncomfortable as he would've expected).

"It feels so weird, being away from everything," Sakura said, almost to herself. They were almost completely alone on the road.

Sasuke almost smirked. She really was inexperienced. "Tch."

"I know you're laughing at me, but come on. It must've been weird when you starting doing all of press and stuff." She said.

"Aa." He shrugged. It _had_ been weird, and he'd hated all of it. Despised it, really. But after a while, it was all background noise. He could turn off, if he needed to; that was how he'd gotten by for this long.

"Just trying to make conversation," Sakura said with a sigh, a hint of that amusement in her voice. _Annoying. _

"Not my area." Sasuke muttered, and Sakura laughed.

"Well, not judging by your lyrics." She said, surprising him.

"Don't write lyrics," Sasuke said, even though that wasn't completely true. "That's Shikamaru."

Sakura rolled her eyes like she knew he was lying. "By your G9 chord, then."

G9 was the basis for one of their songs, Alien, and suddenly Sasuke wondered if Sakura had perfect pitch. He didn't ask.

Sakura almost looked embarrassed at his raised eyebrows. "Sorry. I just like your combinations. God, this is weird."

"Thanks." Sasuke smirked, and was darkly satisfied to see that she was blushing. Still, he was too curious to let the discomfort continue. "How long have you been playing guitar."

"I started in ninth grade, my parents let me get a guitar for my fifteenth birthday. I've been playing as much as I could since then." Sakura shrugged. "I'm not great or anything. I didn't get a contract for my guitar playing."

There it was again: that ridiculous, annoying modesty. "Hn."

"What about you?"

"Early. I was twelve. Electric."

"Oh, mine was acoustic. Well, you're probably not surprised about that." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Sasuke couldn't help smirking. She was right.

And then they started really talking about music, the thing that they actually had in common. And it was so _easy_. The conversation just took off, because somehow they felt the same things and knew the same styles and yet again she was surprising him.

Her tone became slightly teasing when the conversation turned to the industry. "So did they ever try to make you look more friendly? Or dye your hair?" She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "I mean, unless it _is_ dyed."

"No. It's a rock band." Sasuke said, as if it was obvious. "Shit like that's only for pop." He eyed her own hair.

Sakura shrugged, not put off by his tone. "My hair's natural, believe it or not."

Sasuke raised a skeptical eyebrow and Sakura rolled her eyes. "You know, you try really hard, but I can tell you're not _completely_ insensitive," she said.

Sasuke frowned. "Yeah?" He challenged.

"Yeah. The tattoos." Sakura said with a slight smile. She was looking at his arms, and Sasuke felt his skin getting slightly warm under her gaze."They're not totally thoughtless."

Hearing her say that was much more unexpected than irritating (which it _should've_ been, considering she was being extremely annoying right now), but he didn't let on.

"You're way too…nice." He said, in a way that wasn't meant to be complimentary at all.

"Wow. You might not be insensitive, but you are a complete asshole." Her voice was amused. Why couldn't he ever get her bothered?

"You're not a bad guitar player." He said, because for some reason he didn't want to come off like an asshole around her, the way he did with almost everyone else. It wasn't like it was a lie, either (in which case he never would've said it).

It was also probably the highest compliment he could've given her, and she knew it. Sasuke almost regretted saying it.

Almost.

Sakura raised her eyebrows, momentarily struck dumb. "I—Thanks. That…That wasn't supposed to just be a pickup line or something, right? I mean, I doubt you ever do that kind of thing, but..."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course not." He muttered.

"Good." Sakura said, quietly.

She looked around at the empty street, almost as if she was avoiding his eyes. It had darkened around them as they talked; the sun was almost down.

"I have to go back soon," Sakura said, after a moment of silence and when the streetlights suddenly turned on. Sasuke felt some satisfaction at her reluctance. "They're probably going to come after me soon."

"Tch. Right."

They walked back to the corner where they had started, neither of them talking.

"I'm going right here," Sakura said, stopping next to the light where they'd met. "You?"

"Left." Sasuke said.

"Of course." Sakura looked amused, and Sasuke smirked.

She met his eyes for a solid second and then she moved closer to him.

Without pausing to think about it, he closed the distance and kissed her, feeling that rush of warmth that he remembered from the club. Sober, it was twice as good.

Sakura put more pressure into the kiss, putting her arms around his neck, almost hesitantly (it was the opposite of last time). They stayed like that for a few moments.

She pulled away from him when they heard a car horn from a few streets away.

"Hey. We're keeping this quiet, right?" Sakura asked him.

"Definitely." If this got out...No, Sasuke didn't even want to think about that possibility.

She nodded and stepped back. "I should go. Meetings and all that."

Sasuke nodded. "You going to Kumo after this?"

"I think so. For the next month, at least. I'm recording. You?"

"Aa. Until we go on the road again."

"Cool. So I guess I'll see you around, then." She smiled slightly and he felt his stomach flip over.

"Tch. Yeah."

"Great. I'll, um, text you?"

"Sounds good."

He watched her go, and she glanced back to give him a wave before turning the corner.

It was too late to go back now, but Sasuke realized, standing by the streetlight, that he didn't really mind anymore.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_T__ell me what you think :) _


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